Inscription
On June 24, 1971, an explosion and fire took the lives of seventeen construction workers building a tunnel in Sylmar, California. The tunnel was being built for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company. The 5.5 mile, 18-foot diameter tunnel was intended to carry water from the State Water Project into Southern California. To this day, it remains one of the worst tunnel disasters in California and it led to passage of the toughest mining and tunnel regulations in the country.
The memorial is dedicated to the men who lost their lives that day, Metropolitan employee Louis Richardson, Sr. and the sixteen Lockheed employees, the sole survivor Ralph Brissette and the emergency responders who risked their own lives.
The memorial is dedicated to the men who lost their lives that day, Metropolitan employee Louis Richardson, Sr. and the sixteen Lockheed employees, the sole survivor Ralph Brissette and the emergency responders who risked their own lives.
Details
| HM Number | HM22OT |
|---|---|
| Additional Information | The sealed portal of the abandoned tunnel, and stored concrete water pipe sections, can be seen from Fenton Ave near Maclay St in Sylmar, 30 miles north of the marker. |
| Tags | |
| Historical Period | 20th Century |
| Historical Place | Other, Memorial |
| Marker Type | Memorial |
| Marker Class | Historical Marker |
| Marker Style | Free Standing |
| Year Placed | 2013 |
| Placed By | Metropolitan Water District of Southern California |
| Marker Condition |  10 out of 10 (1 reports) |
| Date Added | Thursday, November 9th, 2017 at 1:01am PST -08:00 |
Pictures
Photo Credits: [1] CRAIG BAKER [2] CRAIG BAKER [3] CRAIG BAKER [4] CRAIG BAKER
Locationbig map
| Directions Information | 700 Alameda St, Los Angeles CA 90012, in the courtyard between the Metropolitan Water District building and Union Station. |
|---|---|
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 11S E 385887 N 3768984 |
| Decimal Degrees | 34.05536667, -118.23645000 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 34° 3.322', W 118° 14.187' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 34° 3' 19.3200" N, 118° 14' 11.2200" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 213, 562, 661, 323, 714 |
| Can be seen from road? | No |
| Is marker in the median? | No |
| Which side of the road? | Marker is on the right when traveling North |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 700 Alameda St, Los Angeles CA 90021, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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